Black beans and greens

Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to squeeze leafy greens into another meal, it happened again. Tonight, I was enjoying just being around my kids, playing and hanging around the house so much, that I didn’t think about dinner until after six o’clock. Until Elliot was scrambling on the counter, looking for food. And Lucy came in from skateboarding, hungry. At the same moment, Zoe called in from the living room, wondering when dinner would be ready. I sliced up strawberries and put out a plate of snow peas (from the farm and ridiculously crisp and good.) That held off the troops for awhile.

And then I went hunting in the fridge. What I found wasn’t looking too promising, but I managed to pull it off. There was a container of leftover rice from Indian take-out. And plenty of greens from the last CSA delivery. I found some black beans in the pantry… and it all started to come together. The beans I prepared were garlic-y, fresh with greens, and spiced just right. And they were soupy enough to soak up the rice. Perfect for a splash of hot sauce and a warm tortilla.

Saute the garlic in the oil until just beginning to brown. Add the broccoli raab and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans and water, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Use the back of a large spoon to mash up the beans a bit. Add the scallions, cilantro, cumin and pepper. Cook for another few minutes, and add more water if necessary.
Serve with hot sauce, rice and warm tortillas.

4 Responses

The good thing for me is that all of my kids will eat black beans. I just ate the last of the black beans for lunch today. It made it’s way onto my plate at every lunch since we had it for dinner! There was 1/2 an avocado in the fridge, and some salsa. I mixed it all together and scooped it up with tortilla chips.
Looking forward to making it again, it would even be a good burrito or taco filling.

Caroline,This was my favorite meal of the summer so far! So easy, quick,healthy and flavorful. We added corn tortillas to top and bottom and made a avocado/tomato salsa for the top. Also added a little bit of cheese which slightly melted on top of the beans! Thanks for the recipe. Will try the green beans tomorrow night.

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